This post is part of a weekly series of ‘link-up’ Posts which reflect on life’s journey, old memories and family stories (see below for more info).

Last week we dragged out our festive decorations old and new. I thought we should take the decorating topic a stage further this close to the Big Day.

One of my father’s regular ‘bequeathments’ recently came home with me in the form of an icing kit. This is no ordinary icing kit; it was my mother’s. She who made the same fruit-crammed cake (Be-Ro recipe of course) every year and iced it with the same Royal Icing (Be-Ro) every year since time began by the looks of it, with this very kit.

I occasionally accept such gifts with just the tiniest edge of ‘what the hell am I going to do with that?’ But in this instance I couldn’t have been more thrilled, for when I opened the still-perfectly-intact box (how the hell did our parents’s generation KEEP things so pristine, I ask you?!) I discovered these little fellas…

I actually let out an audible squeal of delight that these tiny old friends were back in my life again after so many years absent. They graced the top of every Be-Ro Christmas cake of my childhood, and beyond.

I find these days that I’m drawn to doing the same thing. Not from laziness or lack of imagination, you understand, but because I know that my children will remember the little, cheap, tacky reindeer that I plopped on my amateur cake creations throughout the years of their growth.

What were your family rituals around this time of year? Share your memories of decorating the Christmas cake. Do you use the same cake toppers every year and do they take you right back to your mother’s table when you get them out of their box each time?

Share your memories by joining our weekly Link-up (new theme each week) with your own blog post, or simply by chatting in the comments section. Everyone is welcome for a dose of sweet nostalgia!